Sánchez rebukes Spanish regions on energy rebellions but opposition wants "disastrous" law withdrawn
Popular Party says Sánchez government did not listen to regional governments or business before decreeing the new measures.
Spain's Energy Minister is disappointed. The regions have already started behaving badly with the energy issue. All they had to do was look good for Europe and they're already messing it all up: "It was, well, hmmm, maybe a bit...disheartening", said Teresa Ribera earlier today: "to see some regional governments, rather than highlighting the idea of 'we want to help make this possible', highlighting the idea of 'we don't like this, we're not going to comply' and then 'let's see how we can avoid the fines'". Politicians trying to avoid fines, in Spain? Perhaps the minister would like to be in charge in some other country. The Prime Minister has also asked, in a tone worthy of a schoolmaster fed up with his pupils for not paying attention, that Spanish regions, especially those governed by the opposition, work together "to add up" (not subtract): "I would ask for unity, responsibility and solidarity", he said: "the unity of Spain is European unity".
"Sánchez is only capable of governing by decree", the opposition Popular Party railed on Monday morning. The PP wants the immediate withdrawal of the "energy improvisation" decree and accuses Sánchez of organising this without taking into account regions, towns, business, tourism or the entertainment industry. They have gone as far as calling it "the Spanish government's disastrous energy policy" and say Sánchez should have listened to regional governments "but not with the decree already ordered". PP leader Feijóo wants to force Sánchez to hold a full first ministers' meeting (all the regional first ministers plus Sánchez) on the issue. Vox wants to talk about national energy sovereignty in September from the regional parliament in Castilla y León (where it now holds a few regional ministerial positions).
For now, it has gone as far as an online meeting of regional ministers with the Energy Minister. Better than the meeting of regional technocrats that was initially on the agenda, but not as much as the first ministers' meeting Feijóo is pushing for.
Spain has seen this "agreement" and management style before, during the pandemic, when in those soviet press conferences or depressing Saturday prime ministerial monologues, Sánchez announced that all was well and that everyone had agreed with everyone for the good of all in the best of all possible countries. It turned out, I discovered, that the regional governments were finding out about the new public health measures at the same time as the rest of the country and that the prior Zoom meetings with Sánchez were just to say hello, tick boxes and make it look like everything was working wonderfully in terms of coordinating the national whole. So it's not suprising the PP is now revealing Sánchez has done it again. The politicians could do better this time, but the probably won't.
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